His Favorite Color
by Depressed Writer
Summary: "Of course, she argued that red wasn't the ordinary color for a wedding dress, but then again, when had they ever been ordinary? " Oneshot. NxM


_**His Favorite Color  
**_

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**Disclaimer****: This disclaimer sign is pointless. It should be pretty obvious.**

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_When the bride comes in and she makes her giant, grand entrance, I like to glance back at the poor bastard getting married. Cause even though I think he's an idiot for willingly entering into the last legal form of slavery, he always looks really, really happy.  
-Kevin, 27 Dresses_

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"Ruka, where the hell is she? And why hasn't it started yet? I'm tired of waiting."

Ruka rolled his eyes, adjusting the cream tie of his white suit, "There's still an entire hour left and the guests haven't even arrived yet. And will you please calm down, Natsume?"

"I can't 'calm down'. How can you expect me to 'calm down'? I'm getting married, for Christ's sake!"

Ruka sighed in exasperation and mumbled something not-so-nice under his breath. "I'll go check up on her, okay?", he said.

He left, leaving an irritated Natsume behind. Natsume growled in frustration. He hadn't seen Mikan since that morning when Nobara, Aoi and a bunch of giggling girls had burst into their room and dragged Mikan away. Hotaru had stood in the corner of the room and threatened to use her baka gun if they didn't hurry up.

It had been nearly two hours since then. Surely, it didn't take _that _long to get dressed.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a thrill of excitement running through him as he imagined how Mikan would look when she walked down the aisle. He could picture perfectly what she would be wearing, even though he'd seen her in the dress only once. After all he was the one who had picked out the dress nearly a month before.

Mikan and Misaki had spent hours browsing through different clothes, going from shop to shop, dragging a reluctant Natsume along, until, finally Natsume's patience had cracked. He had grabbed Mikan's hand and half-dragged, half-carried her to a different store three blocks away and paid for a spectacular dress that had caught his eye.

Of course, she had objected that red wasn't the ordinary color for a wedding dress, but then again, when had they ever been ordinary?

And just a week before, he had got this _brilliant_ idea. He hunted down Hotaru, self-appointed wedding planner, and begged her to do him a favor.

The conversation had gone something like this:

"Imai. We need to talk. About the wedding."

"I'm a little busy at the moment, Hyuuga. And why the sudden interest in wedding preparations?"

"I want the theme of the wedding to be white. I mean pure white. Everything, the decorations, the chairs, the flowers, the altar...everything needs to be completely white."

"Is your brain dysfunctional or did you not just understand what I just said? I'm busy, Hyuuga. And besides, It's too late to change everything now."

"Imai, this is important! There's still about a week left. It's not that hard."

At this point in the conversation, Hotaru had narrowed her eyes, fixing her steely gaze on him, "White? Everything?"

"Everything. Tell all the guests to come dressed in white as well."

She had pondered over this for a while, and then said, "Five hundred yen, and two extra large plates of crab brains."

"Deal." And the contract was signed.

Now looking around the school grounds, so ostentatiously set up for the wedding, he grudgingly admitted that Hotaru had done a more than wonderful job. The ground was completely covered in a thick carpet of shimmering white snow, specially manufactured in Imai labs. Not a hint of the green grass underneath was revealed.

Leading up to the white altar under the sakura tree, was a special carpet of white rose petals, daintily flecked among the snow. On either side of the rose aisle, were about twenty chairs, each specially crafted with interwoven wood and covered in white roses so as to make it look as if the chairs were made out of roses.

But the main attraction among all the white was the sakura tree under which they were about to be wed. Imai had used a special fertilizing agent to turn all the petals of the tree white. Well, almost white. Starting in the middle of each petal, the white color slowly eased into the light pink that was the natural color of the petals. It got darker towards the tips and made the petals look as if they were blushing.

None of the guest had arrived yet, but if Hotaru had stuck to her word, and if all the guests had taken her seriously, then each guest would be dressed in white. The bridesmaids- Aoi and Nobara- and the maid of honor- The Blackmail Queen herself- were already dressed in pure white swaying dresses. Right now, they would be helping Mikan get dressed.

Ruka-the best man-had looked especially dashing in white. Hotaru had seen to that.

Natsume himself didn't look too bad, if all the staring and drooling form half the female population of the school was anything to go by. He was clad in a deep crimson shirt that stood out boldly against his cream coat and pant. He hadn't bothered much with his hair, allowing it to assume its usual disarrayed from, much to Narumi's dismay.

He shuddered remembering how Koko and Kitsuneme had_ almost drugged him_, so that Narumi could style his hair. Really, the only reason he had gotten out of _that_ would-be disaster was because he had jumped out of a nearby window, using his spectacular cat skills. God bless that little window.

A familiar voice behind him shook him out of his thoughts, "Well, if it isn't Natsume."

He turned around and found himself facing a couple.

"Andou. Harada," he greeted.

As promised, both of them were completely dressed in white. Misaki, who was dressed in a simple loose-fiting dress, had one arm around Tsubasa's, the other on her swollen belly.

"Five months now?" Natsume asked, glancing down at Misaki's tummy.

"Five months and two weeks!" announced Tsubasa proudly, kissing her on the cheek, to which she laughed and playfully batted him.

"So where's Mikan? I'd like to see her once before you cart her off to Paris and brainwash her into forgetting the rest of us."

"Oh, very funny," Natsume replied, raising an eyebrow, "And apparently, she's still getting ready. I haven't been allowed to see her."

"Oh?" The couple exchanged glances.

"Well, we'll go check up on her," Misaki said, "And what is_ up_ with all the white?"

To his surprise, Natsume found himself smiling, "You'll see."

They talked for a while before Misaki dragged Tsubasa away. Slowly, the guests began filling in. Natsume greeted all of them, forcing himself to smile politely (Imai's instructions) and welcome them heartily. About fifty people had been invited, excluding those directly involved with the wedding preparations. Natsume shuddered remembering how Mikan had wanted to invite the entire school, before he had knocked some sense into her.

He chatted with Koko and Sumire who seemed to have finally gotten over their differences and were now together. Yuu was still as shy and polite as ever. Anna and Nonoko were dressed in identical white outfits. He shook hands with a gruff Jinno who congratulated him, albeit a little red in the face. Shiki and the High School Principal took Natsume by the arm and led him a little away from the area to threaten him (politely) to take care of Mikan.

As the guests began filling in, Natsume found himself wishing that the whole thing would get over already. The only thing he wanted was to marry Mikan and be done with it, and he couldn't understand why so many _people _had to be involved.

He glanced at his watch. Fifteen minutes to ten. He sighed and sat down on a chair. The suit was making him uncomfortable. Beads of sweat stuck to his back, and the collar was choking him. He consoled himself with the fact that in fifteen minutes he'd be married to her. He had wanted to marry her ever since that day six years ago when he had climbed up onto the balcony and kissed her. Now that the time was finally upon him, he felt quite overwhelmed.

He was still thinking of her when Ruka came up to him and tapped his shoulder. Natsume snapped out of his reverie and turned around to meet Ruka's sparkling blue eyes, "It's time."

Natsume felt a sudden lurch in his stomach. He got up immediately and followed Ruka to the altar. The guests were already seated. Most of them waved at Natsume as he passed. He reached the altar and took his place to the right of the priest. The priest was an old, balding man who flashed Natsume a toothy grin. Ruka stood right next to him.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Natsume mumbled as he looked at the entire congregation assembled before him, all of the faces staring back at him. Narumi blew him a kiss.

Next to him, Ruka chuckled softly, "Chickening out, Natsume?"

"Shut up," He muttered.

They stood like that for some time, the guests talking among themselves in low whispers, when Natsume spotted the wedding procession from a mile away, making their way across the school grounds.

The wedding march started, and the guests stood up hastily and looked down the aisle. It seemed to take ages for the procession to get to the edge of the area demarcated by fake snow. Natsume was all jitters. He could hardly stand still.

The bridesmaids were at the head of the procession. Aoi and Nobara were dressed in matching white empire-waist style gowns that fell right past their knees. Next came the flower-girl- er, flower-bear. None of the guests could help grinning when Bear walked down the aisle, wearing a cute lace bonnet and carrying a basket, throwing around red roses, that clashed beautifully with the white surroundings. Then the ring-bearer walked down the aisle, an expression of nonchalance on his face and_ all_ the guests went, "Aww..."

Youichi was dressed in a white suit and pants, and a black bow-tie. He looked exceptionally uncomfortable. Natsume knew the only reason that he had even agreed to this ring-bearer nonsense was because Mikan had asked him. He was followed by Hotaru, the maid of honour, and Natsume was pretty sure he heard Ruka stifle a gasp. She was adorned in the same gown that Aoi and Nobara had worn, albeit with a few changes. A miniature clip adorned her hair.

But nothing, _nothing, _could compare to the woman that came next, a few strides behind Hotaru. When Natsume saw her, he felt his heart rate shoot through the roof. He wondered if he was going to die of a heart attack before they even got married. God, that would be so _pathetic..._

Because, she was just that beautiful. And the effect was _astounding_, as Natsume knew it would be.

Mikan's crimson dress stood out beautifully against the white surroundings. For Natsume, everything else blurred into a nonsensical white background. The only thing that mattered to him was the woman in red, walking down the aisle. _His _woman in red.

Her hair had been let down her back and it fell past her shoulders in a cascade of brown curls. Her hazel eyes sparkled with joy, and her red lips curved upwards in a radiant smile. She held a bouquet of fresh, red roses in her hands.

His bride-to-be wore a strapless gown, a deep shade of crimson that contrasted perfectly with her flawless, pale skin. The bodice of the gown was embroidered with silver designs that ran around her entire torso. From the waist downwards, satin billowed around her. The material was gathered together in places, to give it a crumpled look. the hem of the gown swept along the ground. Her dress was not too revealing, but distinguished enough to make people gape.

Natsume had seen her in the dress once before and had been blown away, but that experience of seeing her in the dress in a little shop hadn't prepared him for _this. S_eeing her dressed in his favorite color, knowing that they were going to get married...It left him speechless and dazed.

But the dress wasn't the most appealing part of the bride. It was the look of pure ecstasy right there on Mikan's face that made everyone gape in wonder. She was just the type of bright, bubbly girl who exuded an aura of such happiness that everyone in the vicinity couldn't help but smile. She was elegant, graceful, breathtaking, divine and beautiful in a way that words could never capture.

Natsume knew he was a goner the instant he looked at her.

She walked towards the altar, each step bringing her closer to him, to the union that would finally bind them together.

And in the simple instant he locked eyes with her, he knew that red would always be his favorite color and nothing could change that.

He knew that fact the same way he knew Mikan would always be his favorite woman.

No. His _only _woman.

**_Fin_**

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Whew! Finally done.

Inspiration for this story struck when I was sitting around thinking about chocolate and I suddenly started thinking about dresses. And then I started thinking about _wedding_ dresses. And then all of a sudden, it hit me: _**red **wedding dresses_! (Red is my favorite color). I got really excited. I thought I was the first person to think up of such an awesome idea. I really believed that I had sort of invented something. But then when I googled up 'red wedding dresses' I stumbled across Vera Wang's collection of completely red wedding dress collection. Oh what a disappointment. So I wasn't the first one , after all.

But anyway, I did a bit of research, and it seems that red is a highly-er-sexualized color, especially in western culture. I hope you know that I had no such intention to 'sexualize' Mikan in any way. The dress I imagined Mikan wearing is definitely NOT sexy in any way (although Natsume might not agree-ehehe).

I couldn't completely capture Mikan's appearance. So if you want a better picture of how I pictured Mikan, I've inserted the link.

It's No. 18 on this page: **/keeppies/ab53b51008def0b8**

-Depressed Writer signing out!


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